For a commentary on how the present breed standard has
developed, scroll to the bottom of the FCI breed standard

FCI STANDARD
No 350 FOR THE IRISH RED AND WHITE SETTER

ORIGIN

Ireland

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL
VALID BREED STANDARD

19.04.05

CLASSIFICATION F.C.I

Group 7 Pointing Dogs, Section 2 British and Irish Pointers and setters. With
Working Trial.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY

The
Irish Setter probably came to its own at the end of the 17th century. It is not
well known outside of Ireland that there are two breeds of Irish setters, but is
fairly certain, that the Red and White Setter is the older of the two. and that
judicious selective breeding evolved the solid red colour. When Irish Setters
came to the show benches, just past the middle of the 19th century, there was a
good deal of confusion about their proper colour. By the end of the 19th
century, the Red Setter had virtually eclipsed the Red and White, which became
so rare, that they were thought to be extinct. During the 1920s, efforts were
made to revive the breed. By 1944, the breed had re-established itself well
enough to have a club of its own, and today it can be seen in healthy numbers at
Irish shows and Field Trials. The present Club the Irish Red and White Setter
Field and Show Society was formed in 1981 and through its endeavours and
direction the breed is now well established nationally and internationally. The
Irish Red and White Setter competes successfully in Field Trials against the
other pointing breeds and there are now quite a number of Field Trial Champions
and Show Champions.

GENERAL APPEARANCE

Strong well balanced and proportioned
without lumber; athletic rather than racy. The Irish Red and White Setter is
bred primarily for the field and must be judged from the working standpoint

BEHAVIOUR/TEMPERAMENT

Aristocratic, keen and intelligent.
Displays a kindly, friendly attitude, behind which should be discernible
determination, courage and high spirit. The Red and White Setter is very
friendly, dependable and easily trained gundog.

HEAD

Broad in proportion to the body

CRANIAL REGION

Skull: Domed without showing occipital
protuberance, as in the Irish Setter.

Eyes: Dark hazel or dark brown; oval,
with slight prominence and without haw.

Ears: Set level with the eyes, and well
back, lying close to the head.

NECK

Moderately long, very muscular, but not
too thick, slightly arched, free from all tendency to throatiness

BODY

Strong and muscular

Back: To be strong and well muscled

Chest: Deep with well sprung ribs

TAIL

Moderate length, not reaching below the
hock, strong at the root. Tapering to a fine point; no appearance of ropiness
and carried level with or below the level of the back.

LIMBS

Well muscled and sinewy; strong bone

FOREQUARTERS

Shoulders: Well laid back

Elbows: Free, turning neither in nor
out.

Forelegs: Straight and sinewy, well
boned.

Pastern: Strong

HINDQUARTERS

Wide and strong; hind legs from hip to
hock long and muscular.

Stifle: Well bent

Hock: Well let down, turning neither in
nor out. From hock to foot of moderate length and strong.

FEET

Close-knit with plenty of feathering
between toes

GAIT

When moving at the trot, very lively,
graceful and efficient. Head held high, hindquarters drive smoothly and with
great power. Forelegs reach well ahead and remain low. Seen from front or rear
forelegs and hindlegs below the hock joint moving perpendicularly to the ground,
no crossing or weaving of legs, front or back

COAT

Hair: Long silky fine hair called
"Feathering" on the back of the fore and hind legs and on the outer ear flap,
also a reasonable amount on the flank extending on the chest and throat forming
a fringe. All feahtering straight, flat and free from curl but salight wave is
permissible. The tail should be well feathered. On all other parts of the body
the hair should be short, flat and free from curl

Colour: Base colour white with solid
red patches (clear islands of red colour), both colours should show the maximum
of life and bloom; flecking but not roaning permitted around the face and feet
and up the foreleg as far as the elbow and up the hindleg as far as the hock.
Roaning, flecking and mottling on any other part of the body is objectionable

Any departure from the foregoing points
should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be
regarded should be in exact proportion to the degree

SEVERE FAULT

Any dog or bitch not conforming to the
height standard

ELIMINATING FAULTS

Aggressive or overly shy

Males not having two apparently normal
testicles

Although flecking but not roaning is
permitted around the face and feet and up the forelegs as far as the elbow and
up the hind leg as far as the hock, visible and excessive roaning,
flecking and mottling on any other part of the body is an eliminating fault

NB : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles
fully descended into the scrotum

A COMMENTARY ON THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE BREED STANDARD

By Terry O'Leary

Before discussing the future of the Standard one must have
an understanding of its
past and how it has changed and evolved to its present
format. In the early 1940s, an
attempt was made to revive the breed and it was from this
that the Irish Red &White Setter Society was formed in 1944.

Objectives of the Irish Red &
White Setter Society

Their
aims being to encourage the working qualities of the breed
in every possible way, to promote the breeding of them upon
sound working principles, to ensure that when classified at
shows they be judged from a working standpoint.

Points of the Irish Red & White
Setter

The Irish Red & White Setter should be bred primarily for
the Field, and the points
set out hereunder must be interpreted chiefly from this
point of view. Those points are
merely guides to what the Society considers to be the
qualifications of a good working dog or bitch, and all
Judges at Bench Shows, whether members of the Society or
not, must be encouraged to judge the exhibits chiefly from
the working standpoint.

The Irish Red & White Setter should be strongly built, well
balanced and proportioned, with a body designed for long
strenuous work and a certain degree of
speed.

The head should be broad in proportion to the body, with a
good stop; eyes hazel or dark brown. The head should be set
on a muscular neck which slopes gradually into
oblique shoulders.

The body should be well "over the heart" deep in its girth,
with well arched ribs. The
back and quarters should be very muscular and powerful, set
on legs which convey the impression of speed. The bone
should be strong and well built up with muscle and sinew.
The hocks should be sufficiently let down to meet the
requirements of endurance but not dropped to the extent
found in dogs bred exclusively for speed.

The coat should be fine in texture, with good feathering. A
slight wave is permissible, but it should not be curly. The
colour should be white and red, and both colours
should show the maximum of life and bloom.

He should display a kind friendly attitude, behind which
should be discernible determination, courage and the high
spirit and intelligent expression only to be found
in a well-bred animal.

Although the Society did not flourish due to a number of
factors, this document could be seen as the beginning of a
Breed Standard. After much lobbying by Mrs Cuddy for
the revival of the breed and as she was the only living
member left of the Irish & White Setter Society,in the
latter half of 1976 the Irish Red Setter Club was approached by the Irish Kennel
Club to see if it would be willing to supervise and advise
on the restoration of the Irish Red & White Setter.

At this stage the Irish Red Setter Club wrote an Interim
Standard for the Irish Red & White Setter. Just as a
historical point of interest, in an interview with Pia
Hjertquist
in the early 80s, John Nash admitted that he had written the
entire Interim Breed Standard. Rather than the points for
the Red & White Setter this is the format we would all
recognise for a Breed Standard.

Interim Breed Standard 1979

General
A dog of great strength and power, without lumber - athletic
Appearance: rather racy.

Colour:
The dog must be parti-coloured, i.e. the base colour should
be
white with solid red patches. Mottling or fleckingbut not
roaning is permitted around the face and feet and up to the
foreleg as far as the elbow and up the hind leg as far as
the
hock.

Eyes: Should be round,
with a slight prominence, and show no haw.

Ears: Should be set
level with the eyes, and well back, lying close to
the head.

Mouth: The jaws should be of
equal or nearly equal length and the bite
to be "scissors bite".

Neck: Should be
moderately long, very muscular but not too thick,
slightly arched, free from all tendency to throatiness.

Forequarters: The shoulders should be
well laid back. Elbows free, turning
neither in nor out.

Body: The body should be
strong and muscular, with a deep chest and
well sprung ribs. The back and quarters to be very muscular
and powerful. The bone should be strong, and well built up
with muscle and sinew.

Hindquarters:

Should be wide and powerful. The hind legs from hip to hock
should be long and muscular: from hock to heel short and
strong. The stifle and hock joints well bent, and not
inclined
either in or out.

Legs & Feet: Legs should show strong oval bone, be well muscled and sinewy,

Pastern
Should be slightly
sloping into round, close-knit feet, with plenty of feathering
between the toes.

Coat: The coat should be
finely textured with good feathering. A
slight wave is permissible, but it should not be curly.

Tail: Should be strong at
the root, tapering to a fine point, with no
appearance of ropiness, and ideally not reaching below the hock.
The tail should be well feathered and carried level with the
back or below.

In 1980 on the recommendation of the Irish Red Setter Club, the
Irish Kennel Club
withdrew Green Star Championship points from Irish Red & White
Setters. This
decision was taken without consulting exhibitors or owners of
Irish Red & White Setters. We had been waiting for Mrs Cuddy to
revive the Irish Red & White Setter Society. As this did not
happen and we thought it was vitally important to have a input
on all future decisions regarding Irish Red & White Setters ,
an informal meeting was held at a dog show in
the RDS. The people who attended were Laura Dunne, Sean Walsh,
Alan and Ann Gormley and myself. As their was a Irish Red &
White Society a decision was taken
to form\\ a new club. I proposed that the name of the club be
the Irish Red & White Setter Field
and Show Society. In time we held an AGM, drew up our
constitution and I
think it can be said that this club has been the most
influential force behind the revival
of the Irish Red & White Setter. It was only in 2001 that the
club decided to rename itself the Irish Red & White Setter Club.
We may have changed our name but we will carry on the proud
traditions that have moulded this club over the last 25 years.

The Irish Red & White Setter Field and Show Society was formed
in 1981. In 1982
the Irish Red Setter Club, after a dispute with the Irish Kennel
Club, felt it could no
longer contribute to the revival of the Irish Red & White Setter
and withdrew from the project. In the 1983 Irish Red Setter Club
book Mr Nash stated “We must report that your committee had no
other option but sever their responsibility of monitoring the
revival of the red and white setters. This was based on the
presumption that any such dog before submitting applications for
registration would pass two of a panel of judges drawn up for
the purpose, because of a reciprocal arrangement with the
British
Kennel Club whereby the Irish Kennel Club accept all
registrations. This has led to Irish Red & White Setters from
Britain being registered in Ireland without being passed by
the panel as all Irish dogs are. It was felt by the committee
that had the will been there
the Irish Kennel Club could have overcome this situation by a
special agreement, and
when they were unwilling to exercise or negotiate that
prerogative we had no other
option but withdraw. Much time, energy and money was spent,
voluntarily by our
committee in their efforts to put this breed on a proper
footing” The Irish Red & White Setter Club acknowledge the
role of the Irish Red Setter Club in the revival of the Irish
Red & White Setter.

In 1983 the Irish Red & White Setter Field and Show Society was
approached by Mr Tom Creamer of the Irish Kennel Club who was
then overseeing the printing of a book
'The Native Dogs of Ireland, Their Origin - Development-
Standards'. As the
existing Breed Standard was only an Interim Standard the Society
was asked to finalise the Breed Standard.

The Society held several meetings to discuss the finalisation of
the Breed Standard and the final draft was shown to Mrs Cuddy 'Knockalla'
and Dermot Mooney 'Winnowing' for their input, as both had given
most of their adult life to the breeding
and preservation of the Irish Red & White Setter.

The main additions to the finalised
Breed Standard were:-

• The preamble to the breed standard
taken from the Irish Red & White Setter
Society breed points in 1944.

• A height standard; As it was felt that the lack of a height
standard in the Irish
Red Setter Standard had led to the divergence of type between
show and
working setters.

• Colour; An inclusion of 'flecking but not roaning permitted
around face and
feet and up to foreleg as far as the elbow and up to the hind
leg as far as the
hock; flecking and mottling on any other part of the body is
most
objectionable and is to be heavily penalised'. After much
discussion with Mrs
Cuddy and Deremot Mooney this was included as it was felt that
there was an ongoing problem which could further escalate if the
Society did not take immediate action. This was endorsed by all
members of the committee. This
committee included three members from England Mary Knox,
Isabelle Sommerfield and Leslie Conway. The committee was
probably unique in as
much as it was an inclusive representation of the breed both in
Ireland and
abroad. These three women were later to become founder members
of the
Breed Club in Britain indeed Mary Knox was its first secretary.
Having had these three women on the committee and having decided
on the breed
standard, in hindsight it seems a pity that Britain did not
consult this club and
adopt the standard of the country of origin. We could then have
had one
standard for the whole of Europe.

In 1998 changes occurred to the Breed Standard when Mr Tom
Creamer in his position as President of the Irish Kennel Club,
inquired if there were any further changes to be made to the
Breed Standard. Our Breed Standard had been in the FCI format
since 1989. The Club used this opportunity to reinforce parts of
the
Standard it felt was being ignored and to change parts that it
felt were being
misinterpreted. The most important of these being:-

• In relation to roaning and flecking where it specifies the
dog is to be heavily
penalised; The Club felt that this was being ignored and the
consequences could be seen in the dogs showing up in Britain,
America, Canada and Europe. It decided
that 21 years was a sufficient period of time to get this fault
under
control and so decided to make this an eliminating fault.

The Club decided to remove the word 'powerful' from the general
appearance.
Although this word was mentioned in the points for an Irish Red
& White
Setter set up by the Society in 1944 it was in the context that
'the back and quarters should be very muscular and powerful'. In
the Interim Standard of 1979 in the section entitled general
appearance it described the dog 'a dog of
great strength and power athletic rather than racy'. This was
the first introduction of the word 'power' into the general
appearance. In the
finalisation of the Breed Standard in 1984, the word power was
changed to powerful this has led to confusion on the general
appearance of the dog.
It was never meant to be in the context of the overall dog and
as such it was
felt that the inclusion of the word 'powerful' in the
description of the general
appearance has led to the development of a much heavier dog than
envisaged by the Breed Society of 1944 and by the present Club.
As a founder member of the Club and as a member of the committee
who drew up the finalised Breed Standard, I have no difficulty
in admitting we were wrong in inserting the word powerful into
the general appearance. This should not be about ego or pride
this is about admitting a mistake and doing right by the breed.

It was brought to the attention of
the club that the section of the Breed Standard which made
roaning and flecking an eliminating fault caused particular
problems to people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In
these countries dogs who are eliminated may be removed from the
breeding register. The club gave an undertaking to hold a
meeting with members from FCI countries to see if we could find
a satisfactory solution to this problem. A meeting was held in
the offices of the Irish Kennel Club on 18th
September 2004. The meeting was chaired by the President of the
Irish Kennel Club, Mr Sean Delmar. It was attended by the
members of the Irish Red & White Setter Club, Mr Terry O’Leary
Chairman IRWSC, Mr Dave Byrne FT Sec., and Mr Edward Flannelly
Vice-Chairman,; Mr Dirk Vervane (Belgium), Mrs Fiorella Mathis
(Italy), Mr & Mrs Zumsande (Germany), Mr & Mrs Peltonen
(Finland). A submission was read out on behalf of the
Scandinavian Irish Red & White Setter Association. This
submission was written by Pia Hjertquist (Sweden).

After a very full discussion in
which all present took part, a proposal from the breed club to
amend the standard was considered. It was felt by all that this
proposal would remove the problems as identified and after some
minor adjustments the breed club delegation agreed to take it
back to an EGM of the club for ratification.

PROPOSAL:
Colour:

Base colour white with solid red
patches ( clear islands of red colour ), both colours should
show the maximum of life and bloom, flecking but not roaning
permitted around the face and feet and up to the foreleg as far
as the elbow and up the hindleg as far as the hock. Visible and
excessive roaning, flecking and mottling on any other part of
the body is most objectionable and prohibits the dog from being
graded higher than Very Good.

This proposal was presented and
accepted at an EGM of the Irish Red & White Setter Club. It was
also presented to the General Purpose Committee of the IKC. It
was then presented to An Ard Comhairle, the ruling body of the
IKC and accepted by both.

The document was then presented to
the FCI. The General Committee of the FCI understood the
problem we had with the interpretation of the Irish Red & White
Setter standard on col,our. They suggested that the following
wording would best suit our requirements by explaining that this
type of missmarking is objectionable and that where it is very
obvious and pronounced is a disqualifying fault. They felt that
using the term ‘Dogs who are ********* should be disqualified’
could result in some judges over-reacting.

After much discussion we came up
with a proposal that was acceptable to the FCI, the IKC and the
IRWSC.

Colour:

Base colour white with solid red
patches ( clear islands of red colour ), both colours should
show maximum of life and bloom; flecking, but not roaning
permitted around the face and feet and up the foreleg as far as
the elbow and up the hindleg as far as the hock; roaning,
flecking and mottling on any other part of the body is
objectionable.

Eliminating Faults:

Although flecking but not roaning
is permitted around the feet and up the forelegs as far as the
elbow and up the hindlegs as far as the hock; Visible and
Excessive roaning, flecking or mottling on any other part
of the body is an eliminating fault.

This is a major concession by the
breed club for allowing the removal of the words ‘most
objectionable and is to be heavily penalized’ from the colour
section of the breed standard and by stating that ‘roaning,
flecking and mottling on any other part of the body is now just
objectionable’. We feel that this will allow judges
discriminate between what is objectionable and what is an
eliminating fault.

Eye shape. As there had been no
mention of eye shape in the 1944 Points of the IRWS drawn up by
the Irish Red & White Setter Society, this was first introduced
in the Interim Breed Standard 1979, a document drawn up by the
Irish Red Setter Club. If you look at IRWS Eye shape there are two
distinctive ends to the eye and at either end of the eye they join. This shape cannot be described as round or circular .There
has been much discussion between members regarding the shape of
the eye. It was the opinion of all the members of the breed club
that no-one had ever seen a IRWS with a round eye. This did not
reflect the eye shape of the IRWS. The FCI requested the Club to
use precise language and terminology as the standard will be
translated into other languages It was therefore decided to
change the eye shape to oval which would better describe the
shape of an IRWS’s eye.

Showing and the Standard.

Concerns have been raised in the Club on the matter of
presentation of dogs at Shows. Some of them are being shaved and
stripped like show Irish Setters. It is envisaged
that there will be a section in the Breed Standard dealing with
the presentation of dogs
at Shows.

Proposed addition to the Breed
Standard for 2006:

1) Coat / Hair

Addition to the rule will be:

“Feet may be trimmed and stray
hairs neatened, but neither the natural appearance of the coat
nor the outline of the dog should be altered by trimming’.

2) Faults

Addition to faults:

Trimming that detracts from the
natural appearance of the dog is to be penalised.